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Buying a house and are moving 13 aquariums!

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We are closing on our first house January 4th! I'm very excited about this. We don't have to be out of our apartment until January 31st, so we will have the full month on weekends and after work to move, but it should still be a challenge. We have 13 aquariums, fully stocked, some fully planted.

This should be fun...

We picked up 12 20-gallon rubbermaid totes the other day at a garage sale. I've been cleaning and sanitizing them with the intent on using them for the move. Here is my plan, and please feel free to give suggestions/criticism:

We will siphon water from the tank to be moved into the 20-gallon tote and transfer the filters to them. For the 75 and 55 gallon tanks (or any other tanks that have two filters), we will fill two of the bins with water and use a filter on each. We will transfer heaters to the bins, as well (unless you guys suggest not doing that... will they melt the plastic of a rubbermaid bin?). Then, with the main tank water level low, we will net the fish and put them in the bin. They will live in the bin for several hours while we finish breaking down the tank, move it, and set it back up at the new place. Here is where I'm stuck:

After we have the tank set back up, do you suggest bagging the fish, or lowering the water in the bin and just bringing them straight to the new house like that followed by a drip acclimation?

Congratulations on your first house. If it were me, I would transfer the fish in the bins, then lower the water a bit when you get them to your new house so you can drip acclimate them.

When I go fishing I just throw sharp rocks in the water and wait for the dead fish to float to the top... KingfisherEverything happens for a reason. Sometimes that reason is you are stupid and make bad decisions. I think my fish is adjusting well to the four gallon, He's laying on his side attempting to go to sleep on the bottom of the gravel.
A moderator on a fish forum should be able to identify an oscar... Don't you think?Dear naps, sorry I hated you so much when I was a child... Love me

After we have the tank set back up, do you suggest bagging the fish, or lowering the water in the bin and just bringing them straight to the new house like that followed by a drip acclimation?

You left out some key info: How far are you moving [Transit time]? & how comparable/disparate are the water parameters between residences?

Gas mileage isn't everythingOIIIIIIIOLack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.Why pretend there are no stupid questions? Actually, There are many stupid questions: "Should I drink this bleach?" Is just one example.
Having said that, Just because it's a stupid question doesn't mean that it shouldn't be asked. It's better to know.A warm beer is better than a cold beer. Because nothing is better than a cold beer, and a warm beer is better than nothing.

Exactly! A short move is nothing. You toss the fish in the totes and when you arrive at the new place, toss an airstone in the tote with the fish. Nothing to do with the filters. Bacteria will not die in a matter of hours. Do not move tanks with water in them. Too much stress on the seals.

Also no water has to be moved other than what the fish are in. Just refill the tanks and let the filters run for a while to drive off undissolved gasses.

@850R: I'm moving from an apartment to a house less than two miles away, so less than a 5 minute drive. I haven't tested the parameters of the new house, but I imagine it's comparable to where I'm living now. I can check to be sure this weekend.

@andreahp and mommy1: noted! Thanks.

@Lady Hobbs: We are moving furniture first but keeping the aquariums in mind while placing it. We are also... well... geeks, and we are going this weekend to take measurements of all the interior wall space so we can figure out our aquarium/furniture placement in advance. We did that for our current apartment and it worked wonderfully! Also, If I don't need to run the filter, do I need to at least keep the media in dechlorinated water to keep it intact?

I forgot your last statement, LH: Every tank we have has a different setup, completely. The fish we have in each tank aren't super compatible mixing them with others. We enjoy having 13 of them, and will soon have 14 (we will be moving our Asian-biotope tank from a 55 to a 125g or larger so we can move the Mbuna to the 55 and our breeding multi colony to the 40 breeder). If you look at the tanks in my profile, there's not a lot of fish that would be compatible with each other by mixing them... also, we desire regionally specific tanks. The maintenance is manageable, taking around 1/2 day every other Saturday (large PWC and gravel vac for non-planted tanks) and a couple hours on the off Saturdays (large PWC). :)

Good you are moving furniture first. For some reason, when I moved and set my tanks up, I ended up tearing each one down half a dozen times it seems to move them 6" this way or in another room or on another wall! grrrrr

Your filters will be fine. Just leave them as they are, toss them in a box and put them back on the tanks after you move.

Hope you have nice weather for moving. Hard enough without snow banks in the way. The airstones will work fine in the totes once you arrive and give you time to set your tank up. You can even move the air stones from one tote to another and don't have to buy numerous ones.